Searching for the Light
by Squall Leonhart4
Summary: New Chapter finally added. Incomplete one no less, but still a chapter! Just seein if people are still interested
1. The Beginning

The Beginning  
  
Note - Hey you guys!!! I guess I had to start writing again. I wasn't really pleased with the last story and how it ended. It feels like there's still more that needs to be explained, or stuff that can be expanded on, no less. Anyway, I decided to start a completely new story! Whoo!! But what's different this time? Well, Yuffie and Squall (I can call him that now! YES!) won't get separated again. They'll actually go through adventures again together this time! So how could I start another fanfic like my last one where they travel to different worlds? Well, if you remember, Sora still has to seal the door of light. All the worlds are sealed off from each other, and there's no way to get to them. Sooooo knowing that Chip and Dale are SUCH great mechanics (I love Chip and Dale! Rescue Rangers...Ch-ch-chip and Dale!) they invent a ship that can travel through the boundaries of the worlds! Which means this time Sora will actually have a part in the story (not Donald and Goofy though. I didn't like them ^_^0). Anyways, my story starts two years after the first one. Yuffie and Squall have had a pretty nice life for the past two years, until one night...  
  
~  
  
"Aren't they beautiful, Squall?" Yuffie asked.  
  
They were outside of Balamb. They both had found a shady spot on a hill and were looking at the stars together. Squall was sitting next to her, stargazing along with her. Squall looked at Yuffie and smiled.  
  
"Yeah, they are..."  
  
Squall couldn't help but remind himself of what happened four years ago. It was here, when he was stargazing with Rinoa, that all that trouble began. But he shook his head. That was the past, he told himself. Besides, things are better now. My world was saved, I've finally put my guilt of Rinoa to rest, and I have...  
  
"Squall, what are you thinking about?" Yuffie asked.  
  
Squall jumped a bit, shaking himself out of his memories. "Ah, nothing Yuffie. Nothing important, at least."  
  
Yuffie had a look of concern on her face. "Alright, if you say so...LEON!"  
  
Squall grinned. "That's not my name anymore!!"  
  
"Ooooo what's big, bad, LEON, gonna do?"  
  
"He'll do THIS!"  
  
Squall tackled Yuffie, laughing the whole time. Yuffie at first was surprised, but then started laughing with him. They rolled down the hill together, laughing the whole way. When they got to the bottom and came to a stop, they gazed into each others eyes. Things seemed so perfect for both of them...  
  
It was then that something caught Yuffie's eyes high up in the sky.  
  
"Look at that, Squall!" She said, taking a tone of seriousness as she pointed up at the sky.  
  
Squall got off Yuffie and looked up at the sky.  
  
There was what looked like a blazing comet shooting across the sky. But then, it slowed down, and began to descend. As it came down, Squall couldn't help but think how similar it looked to the gummi ships they used so many years ago. But, there was something different about this one. The ship descended further down, until it landed, a few hundred yards from them. Yuffie looked at Squall. Squall nodded, and they both ran off to investigate what it was.  
  
Squall had his gunblade drawn, and Yuffie drew one of her ninja stars. They were prerpared for anything to come out of the ship. The cockpit door opened, and a large hiss of steam came out. They could see a silhouette of a person through the steam, but they didn't know who it was. Then, the figure talked.  
  
"Hey Leon! Hey Yuffie!"  
  
Squall recognized that voice. It sounded like someone he used to know, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.  
  
"Sora!" Yuffie cried.  
  
As the steam cleared, Squall could see that it was really Sora. Of course, he looked older. He was about sixteen, now. He was taller than he was last time Squall had seen him, and he was a much different person than the short, loud, and often annoying person Squall used to know.  
  
"You guys," Sora said, "something terrible's happened!" 


	2. A New Threat

A New Threat  
  
Note - Isn't it always funny how I start every story off with one of my ramblings? ^_^ Anyway, so yeah, here's Chapter 2 of my new story! I was really surprised that I could come up with a new idea for a story so quickly after the first one. I was really disappointed that the first one had to end, and I really wanted to do something new!!! So, here it is! But here's just a few things that will be really cool about this story!! First off, characters from the first story will reappear. I definitely know Aya does. (Isn't nice that almost all the worlds I picked in the first story have sequels? ^_^) Anyways, I really want to get the focus off Squall in this one, and try to focus on the group as a whole. After all, it will be Squall, Yuffie and Sora who do all the adventuring and exploring (and a character who will join them later...mwahahah!) Oh, and btw, please read my first story before you read this one!! Otherwise, things will get really confusing ^_^. Read it there http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1042751  
  
Sora: So get on with it already! Enough of your ramblings!!!  
  
Author: -whacks Sora w/ a paper fan- Quiet, you. Just because you hit puberty doesn't mean you can argue with me now!  
  
Sora: @_@ Oww...  
  
Author: So here it is, Chapter 2!!!  
  
~  
  
Squall, Yuffie and Sora were sitting in Squall's dorm room. Yuffie had made tea for everyone, and was pouring a cup for Sora.  
  
"So, how'd you get here Sora?" Yuffie asked. "I thought all the worlds would be permanently sealed off from each other."  
  
Sora took a sip of his tea, as Yuffie took her seat next to Squall. "Well, Chip and Dale began construction on a new gummi ship that would allow for travel between the worlds. And they proved to be successful, because...here I am!"  
  
"But why do you need to go to other worlds, Sora?" Squall asked. "I thought the threat was over."  
  
Sora shook his head. "It's just starting..."  
  
Sora took a deep breath, and started to tell them his story...  
  
~  
  
Two years ago, Ansem was defeated. However, Kingdom Hearts had to be sealed. Goofy, Donald and I kept trying to close it ourselves, but to no avail. Then, Riku, appeared on the other side of the doors, and was helping us close it too. But from the inside. It was then that King Mickey appeared, and with his keyblade and mine, the door was sealed. However, Mickey and Riku were sealed along with the door. Since the Heartless had been sealed off, the worlds that had been previously destroyed began to reform. I made a tough decision, and I went to Goofy and Donald's world, instead of going back to Destiny Islands with Kairi. Once there, Pluto had a letter that was from the king. After reading it, we found out that there was a new plot in store for the door of light.  
  
Remember how Ansem had to collect the seven princesses of heart before? Well now, someone is collecting the five bearers of light. These bearers of light hold the key to opening the door of light, and to use that power for good...or evil.  
  
What makes matters worse is the fact that who's ever doing this has the first bearer of light, Queen Minnie, who recently disappeared from the castle.  
  
So, after two years of work, Chip and Dale managed to make a ship that could cross the boundaries of different worlds. We also made a tracking device that would pinpoint the location of the remaining bearers of light. Goofy and Donald elected to stay behind so that they could protect the castle in this time of uncertainty. I used maps of the different galaxies to find your world, because...  
  
I need your help...  
  
~  
  
Sora leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Squall and Yuffie were both stunned by what Sora had to say.  
  
Squall was surprised to see how mature Sora had become. He remembered the first time he met Sora, and how he was always loud and annoying. He at times had trouble thinking that Sora could actually be the keyblade master. But now he could see why. It took a lot of guts to make some of the decisions he had to make.  
  
"Well, I don't know about Squall, but I'm willing to help, Sora!" Yuffie said.  
  
Sora smiled, and turned his glance to Squall.  
  
"Well, are you in Leon?"  
  
Yuffie looked at him as if to say he better agree with Sora.  
  
"It's Squall, and...yeah, I guess I'll help you out."  
  
Sora smiled again. "Thanks you guys. I hate to put you through this trouble again but - "  
  
"Don't worry about it." Squall interupted. "I want to see Mickey saved as much as you do. Besides, you were the one who saved us all before, so we still owe you one."  
  
"So, when do we leave?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"As soon as possible." Sora answered. "We can't let the bearers of light fall into the hands of evil..."  
  
~Far, far away...~  
  
In a room of darkness, a group of shadowed figures were watching Sora, Squall and Yuffie talking to each other.  
  
"Do you think they pose a threat, master?" A voice asked.  
  
"Not at all." A gruff voice replied. "Besides, I have all of you to count on. Don't let me down..."  
  
The other figures nodded.  
  
The cauldron in the center of the group which depicted the trio talking changed, and showed a world instead.  
  
"This is the closest world to were they are right now." The leader said. "I already have agents stationed there, ready for their arrival. This is where the second bearer of light is."  
  
The scene in the cauldron changed again. This time, it showed a young woman, probably in her early 20's. She had short, blond hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black bomber jacket.  
  
Her name was Aya Brea. 


	3. Forbidden Power

Forbidden Power  
  
Note - God, its taken forever to write this chapter!!! I don't even know where to start!! After many tries in all sorts of places, I came up with this one, which seemed to be the best to me.  
  
Oh, btw, for that guy who reviewed and asked about why Sora hadn't gone after Kairi... It's a secret! ^_^ You'll find out soon enough though...maybe... Oh yeah! I'm also thinking about writing a spinoff story about Raine, a character from my last story! I know a lot of people don't like her and such (lol@snowri). But I really felt sorry for her, and I think I'll write a story 'bout why I do. So, Ciao for now, and have a Merry Xmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, Ramadan, all Hallmark created holidays, and any other holiday that you celebrate that for some reason seems to coincide with every other religion's holiday!  
  
~Oh it feels like I've been on a long journey~ ~Feels like I've waited all this time~ ~For that one moment...~ ~Was it God's will or was it my own?~ ~Well I swear I heard a voice telling me: Awake! Awake!~ ~Among the waves, I can bring back, memories...~ ~Beyond dreams, beyond memories~ ~A sacred tree comes up on me...~ ~Beyond dreams, beyond memories~ ~I realize I am myself, then we find each other...~  
  
~  
  
The trio had all boarded Sora's ship together. Sora was piloting, and Squall and Yuffie were in the backseat. They had just flown out of their world, and back into space.  
  
"Hold on you guys, this is were it gets kinda rough..." Sora warned.  
  
The ship all of a sudden seemed to slow down. Squall at first thought that they had run out of gas. However, as he looked out the window of the ship, he noticed that there was an invisible force holding the ship back.  
  
"The unbreakable walls..." Squall murmured to himself.  
  
Sora pulled back a huge lever, and then slammed his foot on a large pedal. The ship strained, and with an audible "POP!", the ship passed through the wall.  
  
"Pretty nifty, huh?" Sora asked.  
  
~  
  
"So, where exactly are we headed?" Squall asked.  
  
Sora pointed to a radar screen in the front. There was a blinking green dot in the upper part of the screen.  
  
"See that dot? That's the location of the first bearer of light. In fact, it shouldn't be too far away now..." As Squall, Yuffie and Sora looked out the front window, they could see the new world fast approaching. After a slight pause due to the breaking of another world's barriers, the gummi ship hovered in front of the world.  
  
Squall had an uneasy feeling about this place. He had never seen this world before, yet all seemed so familiar...  
  
"Is something wrong, Squall?" Yuffie asked him.  
  
"Ah, no its nothing." He replied. "Just had a case of déjà vu."  
  
She smiled at him. "If you say so, Squall..."  
  
"C'mon you guys!" Sora interrupted. "We have to hurry and find the first bearer of light before someone else does!"  
  
And with that, they all exited the ship, and into the unknown.  
  
~  
  
They disembarked into what first appeared to be an abandoned mine shaft.  
  
"What is the place?" Yuffie wondered.  
  
"There's no one here. Are you sure you're reading that thing right, Sora?" Squall asked.  
  
"Of course I am! Follow me guys, the bearer should be this way..." Sora began to walk into the mines. Yuffie and Squall looked at one another, and decided to follow.  
  
As they walked further into the mines, they came to what looked like a dead end.  
  
"Now what?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"That's weird..." Sora said. He held up his tracking device. "It says that the bearer is past this wall. Far past this wall..."  
  
"But that's impossible!" Yuffie said. "There's nothing but a dead end."  
  
"Take a look at this, guys." Squall said.  
  
Sora and Yuffie walked over to where he was standing.  
  
"Listen."  
  
Squall knocked on the wall. It had a hollow sound to it.  
  
"So, there really IS something back there." Yuffie said.  
  
"That's nice, but how do we get past it, though?" Sora asked.  
  
"There's probably a secret passage. Someone must be hiding something in here." Squall answered.  
  
They began patting down the cave walls. Nothing happened. Yuffie tried knocking on the wall at different spots, but to no avail.  
  
"It's hopeless..." Sora said. He sat on a barrel beside the wall. As he sat down on it, it began to sink into the ground. Sora jumped up, startled.  
  
"What's going on?!"  
  
"I think you found the secret passage, Sora." Squall answered.  
  
As the barrel continued sinking, the back cave wall began to slide away, revealing a metallic hallway, and an elevator at its end.  
  
"Good job, kid." Squall told Sora. "Now lets get going."  
  
The trio walked into the hallway, and descended further into the caves...  
  
~  
  
When the elevator doors opened, they found themselves in what looked like a military bunker. There beds at one end, and to their left, there was a long row of lockers. To their right, there was a table and a set of chairs. There was a man in a lab coat who had his back to the group sitting in one of the chairs. He appeared to be reading a magazine.  
  
"Sir, could you tell us what this place is?" Yuffie asked.  
  
The man didn't reply.  
  
"Uhm, sir?"  
  
Still no reply.  
  
Squall walked up to him, and grabbed his shoulders. "Are you deaf or something? We just want to know - "  
  
The man fell out of his chair and onto the floor. Squall jumped back, and Yuffie and Sora gasped.  
  
"Is he...dead?" Yuffie asked.  
  
Squall could feel something... He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something seemed wrong. Very wrong. He drew his gunblade.  
  
The man's hand began to twitch. And then it started to turn a brown musty color, as it slunk back into the man's lab coat.  
  
The three gasped as the man began to transform. His whole body began convulsing. He began to stand up. His pants burst open, and his legs had turned the same musty brown as his hand had. His shoes ripped open, as his feet had turned into what appeared to be paws. He stumbled forward, as spikes began to appear in his back. His long dark black hair began to thin out, and then it disappeared completely. His face became the dark brown color as well. His once blue eyes turned into a deep, blood red. He was no longer a man, but a hideous beast.  
  
It roared at the three of them, causing them all to jump back in alarm. Yuffie drew one of her ninja stars, and Sora had his keyblade in hand. A battle ensued.  
  
Yuffie threw her star, hitting the monster in the chest. It yelped in pain. Squall swiped at it with his gunblade, causing a large cut down the monsters torso. Sora finished it off with a swift jab from his keyblade. The creature made a few choking sounds, and then fell over.  
  
"What the hell was that thing!?" Yuffie cried.  
  
"This place is messed up!!" Sora yelled.  
  
Squall said nothing. He looked down at the creature. For a split second, he almost felt pity for it. He shook his head. I'm just tired, he told himself. The three of them decided to leave the creature alone for right now, and turned around to go to another doorway.  
  
As they walked towards the door, their backs were turned on the creature. They didn't hear it pick itself up, until it roared loudly at them. They all turned, just in time to see it jump at them. Yuffie screamed, and Sora and Squall held their weapons out.  
  
BANG!  
  
The creature fell to the side, inches away from the group. As they watched it, it slowly melted into a pink, liquidy goo. Their attention then turned to where the gunshot had come from.  
  
A figure stepped from the shadows. As Squall squinted to see who or what it was, he could tell it was a female. She was still holding her gun out.  
  
"Alright, what the hell are you three doing here? Hands up!"  
  
Squall recognized that voice.  
  
"Aya...?"  
  
The figure stepped forward. It was here. She was a bit older however, and unlike the last time Squall saw her, she was wearing a pair of tight black shorts, a black top, and a denim jacket. She had a look of surprise and happiness on her face.  
  
"Leon? Is that you?! What ARE you doing here?!"  
  
"It's Squall," He started, "And there's a very good reason we're here..." The three each took turns introducing themselves and explaining the situation.  
  
~  
  
Aya looked down at the ground. "So...are you saying I'm one of those bearers of light...?"  
  
Sora nodded. "We came here to protect you! There are other forces who are trying to catch you even as we speak!"  
  
"Aya?" Squall asked, changing the subject. "What is this place...?"  
  
"Yeah, and what was that monster??" Asked Yuffie.  
  
"Honestly, I don't know what this place is, Squall. It looks like a group of scientists were using mitochondria in some sort of weird experiments..."  
  
"Mito...what now?" Asked Sora.  
  
Squall shook his head. "I'll tell you later. It's too hard to explain now. Now, Aya, what about those creatures?"  
  
Aya nodded. "They're some form of mitochondrial creature, like the ones that were in New York. But these ones are much different. They seem more...human than the last ones."  
  
"So, what now?" Yuffie asked.  
  
"Well, I personally would like to get to the bottom of all this." Aya said. "I really want to know what those creatures are, and what this whole shelter is being used for."  
  
"I'd like to find out for myself, too..." Squall added.  
  
"Well, I guess that'd be a good idea. We'd be able to keep a better eye on Aya that way." Sora said.  
  
And so the foursome walked out of the barracks, and further into the shelter... 


	4. What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath

Note – Whoo! Long chapter! Hehe...I don't know if this story's gonna be quite as long as the last one...we'llllll see! Anyways, I really like the way the story's coming along so far. I know sometimes it seems kind of rushed, but if it was any longer, the story would be about...a million pages!!! LOL! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It be good ^_^. And...new character at the end!!! YAY!!

~If all that is left is to be disheartened by,~

~What is to come and wait for this pathetic feast to end~

~Our history fading~  
~Away, then what is there left for us to expect now?~

~Awake! Awake!~

~Among the waves, I can bring back, memories...~  
~Somewhere, amidst the memories~  
~Something awakens inside me~  
~Will it learn love? And tenderness?~

Aya led the trio out of the bunker area, and into a large hallway. There were many other doors, but as Aya told them, most of them were locked. She led them into the room she had previously been in, the Technican's Lab.

"This is where I was last. I found a computer that works, and I try to access it, but it doesn't work for some reason."

Yuffie sat down in front of the computer, she stretched her hands out, cracking her knuckles. "Let me take a crack out of it!"

She flipped the computer on. A login screen appeared. There was a space to insert a password. On top of the window where the password was to be typed, a cartoonish caterpillar continuously crawled across the screen. In the background, the word AYALEON scrolled across the screen.

"It probably has a virus." Yuffie said. "That's why you can't login!"

"Well, that's great and all, but how do we fix the virus?" Squall asked.

"No problemo!" Yuffie said, holding up what appeared to be a Science and Technology type magazine.

"Where'd you get that from?" Aya asked.

"It was on the table where that guy or creature or whatever that thing was was sitting. It seemed interesting, so I picked it up! Now, let's see..." Yuffie began to flip through the pages, until she found the article she was looking for.

"Ah-ha! Here it is!" She exclaimed, holding up the magazine to show the others the article.

"What does it say, Yuffie?" Aya asked.

"It says here that this was caused by a virus called the Caterpillar virus, so named because of the caterpillar that appears on the screen. The virus causes the password to be displayed in the background, and screws up the actual password that is needed to access the computer."  


"So how do we unscramble the code, then?" Squall asked.

  
"It works like this!" Yuffie said. She grabbed a pen and paper from the desk. She wrote out AYALEON on it.

"Ok, here's the password. The way the virus works is that it scrambles the password up so you have to put the letters in alphabetical order, and state how many there are. So, in other words, this is how it would look."

2AELNOY

"So, if I just type that into the computer then..." She went to the keyboard, and typed the password in just as she had written it. After a slight pause, another window popped up.

  
"Access granted!"

"Yes, we're in!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Good job!" Aya told her.

  
"Way to go Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed.

"Where'd you learn all that computer stuff?" Squall asked.

  
"You think I'm just all about looks and fighting, Squall Leonhart?" She asked, grinning.

Squall smiled back. "Whatever..." They all turned their attention to the computer screen. Four different prompts had popped up.

1. NMC Program Information

2. Neo Ark Information

3. Cloning Project

4. Exit

"Well, I guess it'd be good to start from the beginning." Yuffie told the rest. She pushed the one key on the keyboard, and the screen went blank. Then, a vast amount of text appeared on the screen."

~  
  
After the NY blockade incident three years ago, the organelle found in all human cells, mitochondria, has gone under heavy research. Our leader obtained mitochondrial samples that were found near the NY incident. Using those mitochondrial extracts, we began to do experimentation on them, to find out their true potential. Our research paid off when one of the scientists accidentally spilled the mitochondria on his skin, causing physical changes. We realized then that the mitochondria brings out the true potential of a person. It changes them into what we call NMC's, or Neo-Mitochondrial Creatures. 

In order to pursue our goals, we lured in human test subjects, offering them the possibility of eternal youth. While there, the subjects were injected with the mitochondria. The results were astounding, as we found out that there were actually different species of NMC's! 

  
Our original goal was to create a gigantic NMC. This NMC would grow and mature, until one day, it would release viruses that contained the mitochondrial DNA into the air. These airborne viruses would spread and cover the earth, changing all of human kind into these creatures.

~

  
The four all stared in shock as they read down the computer screen.

  
"Who would want to do such a thing?" Aya asked. "And where did they get those samples from anyway?"

Yuffie hit the enter key, and more information filled the screen.

~  
  
The mitochondria was obtained from two individuals who showed above-average mitochondrial control. These two individuals are:

Aya Brea

Age: 27

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 139 Lbs.

Mitochondria exhibits strange, above average powers.

Leon  
Age: Unknown

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Disappeared after NY incident. Mitochondria is much more powerful than that of Aya's. Mitochondria used for Neo Ark and Cloning Project

~  
  
Squall and Aya looked at the screen in disbelief.

"You mean...those things were created because of my mitochondria?" Squall asked. Aya remained silent. 

Yuffie turned around in the desk chair. "If you want, I can stop. We don't have to read what the rest of it has to say..."

"No, Yuffie, we have to. I want to know what went on here."  
  
The computer screen had cleared, and it was no back at the main screen. This time, Yuffie selected the Neo Ark option.

~  
  
Neo Ark. Also known as Shambala. Neo Ark is a subterranean "zoo" if you will. We began to run out of room for our NMC's, so an artificial world was created deep below this shelter. It has it's own artificial sun, contains a desert, an island, the arctic tundra and a jungle.

Neo Ark is powered by NMC's, as well as the rest of this shelter. Mitochondria produces a great amount of energy, so some NMC's have been used as a clean, efficient, alternative to fossil fuels.

Most of the NMC's are stored in Neo Ark for prospective buyers. Some people have been so willing to go along with our project, that they will actually choose what kind of NMC that they want to be "reborn" into. Neo Ark is a reflection of what human life will become after the virus is released.

~  
  
"So there's an entire world below us?" Sora asked.

"Sounds like it." Aya answered. "I could feel something strange down there, couldn't you Squall?"  
  
He nodded. He had felt uneasy about this entire place ever since they got there, but he felt that there was something big down there.   
  
"But what's this cloning project?" Squall asked.

Yuffie pressed the three key and more information popped up.

~  
  
Because of the large number of NMC's that we had begun to produce, we could no longer began to control them. Some of them began to rage out of control, and attacked and killed several staff members.

In order to better combat this situation, we took DNA found from the man known as "Leon", and cloned him. The clone was raised for 2 years in a normal, family environment. The young boy aged rapidly, and learned a great deal in those 2 years, so if he was seen today, he would appear to be around 12 years old. 

After two years, we took away everything he had. We took away his "mock" family, and he spent most of the next two years in solitary confinement. We began to break down the clone morally. The clone is now used to keep the NMC's at bay and to prevent them from going out of control.

Currently, we are working on another solution to this problem. It's obvious that the clone does not want to participate in what we want it to do. It sometimes lets NMC's kill the staff or escape from their pens. Currently, no solution is available at this time.

  
~  
  
Squall was leaning against the wall. He had his eyes closed, and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Who could ever think of doing something so cruel to a child?" Aya asked. 

  
"I really couldn't tell you." Squall answered. He stood up slowly. "But I'd like to find out. And the only way we can find out, is by going to Neo Ark."

"Where's the nearest entrance?" Yuffie asked Aya. 

"Actually, I saw an elevator that was marked NEO ARK. It's right across the hall from this room."  
  
With that, the four of them left the computer room, and walked across the outer hallway, and descended into the elevator.

~  
  
They entered into a large, darkened room.

  
"Now what?" Sora asked. "I thought there was supposed to be a zoo down here."

As they walked into the middle of the room, the lights flashed on.

"Welcome to Neo-Ark!" A taped voice said.

The four jumped back at first, but then looked around at their surroundings. They were in a large, circular room, that looked like a lobby at a museum. There was a semicircular desk on one side of the room, that probably used to have a receptionist. The other side of the room had a panel of televisions that showed the security camera views of the rest of the "zoo". The four walked over to that side of the room.

They searched on all the video cameras, but could find nothing. 

  
"Where is everything?" Squall asked. "The way the information on the computer was written, it sounded like they had hundreds of NMC's running around down here. And I can still feel something down here...can't you Aya?"

Aya nodded. She was about to add something, when a flicker of motion on one of the screens caught her attention.

"Look at that!" she pointed to one of them.

On one of the screens, a young child in a helmet ran down a platform in what appeared to be a river. The child descended into an elevator. 

"I bet that's that clone the computer was talking about!" Yuffie said.

"We should find the clone. We might be able to find out more of what's going on here." Aya said.

  
Squall was silent. They used me to change people into monsters...They used me to make a clone, and they've tortured him for God knows how long... He kept feeling guilty for this entire situation.

Yuffie could tell he was feeling upset. She walked over to him, and leaned against him. "Squall...it's not your fault. You didn't ask for any of this. We'll find out who's responsible for this..."

Squall looked down at her. She smiled a goofy smile. "So I can kick their ass!"

"Nuh-uh!" Sora exclaimed. "They'll be dead five times before they hit the ground when I deal with them!"  
  
"I'll show them what real mitochondrial power can do." Aya said. 

Squall looked around at all of them, and couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks you guys... Now, let's go find out who this kid is!"

~

They had used one of the guidemaps they found at the information desk to find their way to where they had seen the child descend. 

"I definitely can tell the kid's down there." Aya said. "I can feel it."

Squall nodded. "Me too..."

"Well, now that we know this is the spot, what say we get a move on?" Sora asked.

The other three sighed, and all four climbed into the elevator, and descended even further into the depths...

~  
  
As they reached the bottom, Sora was the first to complain.

"Is it just me, or has it suddenly gotten really hot in here?" 

Squall and Aya looked at each other. They knew what that meant.

  
"You guys might want to stay behind." Squall said, motioning towards Yuffie and Sora. "This could get ugly..."

"No way! Any fight of yours is a fight of mine!" Yuffie cried.

"Shhh!" Aya said. "Listen!"

They all were quiet. They could hear footsteps around the corner. They all silently walked towards the sound, and found a hallway.

Near the end of the hallway, the young child stood, motionless. 

"Let's get 'em!" Sora half-whispered. He started walking forward, but screamed in pain and surprise as his arm caught on fire. The other three tried to put it out, as the child ran down to the end of the hall, and through a door.

  
Yuffie helped Sora stand up. "You guys go after the kid! I'll stay here with Sora."

"You sure Yuffie?" Squall asked.

"Yes I'm sure! Just get going or else you'll lose the kid!!"

With that, Aya and Squall ran down the hallway, hearts racing the whole way. At the end of the hallway, Squall opened the door very slowly. Aya drew her gun as she walked in. 

  
They found themselves in a metallic-looking room. The child was backed up against the wall, shivering. Aya kept her gun pointed at the child. 

Squall could feel something about the kid. He wanted to try something. He motioned to Aya to put the gun down, and he walked towards the child. The child tried to back further into the corner as Squall approached him. Squall knelt in front of him.

"It's alright, kid." He said in a soft voice. "We're not here to hurt you..."

The kid suddenly stopped shivering. He became motionless. Squall pushed a button on the side of the child's helmet. The sides protruded outward, and an electronic hissing could be heard. Squall grabbed the helmet, and gently removed it.

The kid looked exactly like Squall, only younger. He had the same brown hair, the same eyes, same everything. The child looked up at Squall with tear-filled eyes. He then started to cry, and threw his arms around Squall. Squall was surprised at first, but returned the embrace, remembering the pain the child had suffered. As he was hugging the child, he noticed a nametag on the bottom of the kid's helmet.

His name was Adam


	5. Logic of the Superpower

Logic of the Superpower

Note – Whoo! New chapter!! And Squall has a clone, Adam! This chapter I thought was really cool because it has a huge plot twist in it, and it brings back some familiar faces! Soooo...Enjoy!   
Oh, btw, special thanks goes to Snowri! I forget to mention it in the first chapter. She's the real reason I decided to write a sequel to the first story. I'm sure if I didn't, she'd probably kill me or something o_O Anyways, on with the story!  
  
~Kindness is something I don't want or need~  
~The sunshine will just dissolve me into light~  
~Give me a pain as pleasing as your sight~  
~So I can feel you all the days and night~  
~To keep me from fading away...~

Aya looked at Adam's discarded helmet. "This must be what they used to control Adam." She said, noticing his name on the helmet. "I remember a scientist friend of mine showing it to me a while ago. It allowed Adam to only control the NMC's, and tried to prevent him from using his powers against his captors."  
  
Adam was still sobbing silently in Squall's arms. Squall looked down at him. "Hey, Adam?" he asked, "Can you tell us what happened here? Where is everybody?"

"..."

Aya knelt beside Squall, looking at Adam. "He's probably in a lot of shock from what's happened to him." She said. "He probably hasn't spoken since his captors starting torturing him. It's so sad to see something like that happen to a kid his age..."

"So, now what do we do?" Squall asked. "We can't leave him here."

"I guess we'll have to take him with us. It's too dangerous to leave him here. Now that his helmet is off, if there are any NMC's out there, they'll be running around like crazy."

Squall nodded. He looked down to Adam. "We're gonna go now, ok? We'll take you to someplace safe, alright?"

Adam looked up at him. His face was flushed, and his eyes still watered. He slightly nodded, showing that he could understand what Squall was saying. He got up, and Squall stood up beside him. Something clicked in Adam's head, and he suddenly ran to the opposite end of the room.   
  
"What's wrong?!" Squall asked, afraid something was happening. 

Adam returned, holding up a teddy bear. It was ripped in some spots, and stuffing was coming out of it. It was missing one of it's eyes. But Adam held on to it tightly.   
  
Aya smiled at him. "C'mon Adam, let's get out of here. We'll take you away from this scary place. And you can bring your little teddy bear with you too!"

Adam looked up at Aya, and his face changed. He wiped away his tears, and smiled brightly at Aya. He grabbed onto her hand, and started to lead her out the door, Squall following close behind. 

~  
  
The three of them met up with Sora and Yuffie back in the hallway. Sora was leaning against the wall, holding his bandaged arm, and Yuffie had been pacing around the room. Sora and Yuffie both looked surprised as they saw young Adam with Aya and Squall. 

"Awww, he looks just like you Squall!" Yuffie said, kneeling in front of Adam. "Only cuter!" 

Squall rolled his eyes at that. Adam giggled softly. 

"Are we gonna take him with us?" Sora asked.   
  
"I don't see why not." Squall answered. "He has nowhere else to go, and I'd hate to leave him alone with all sorts of weird monsters running around."

"So, what do we do now?" Yuffie asked. 

"We have to find that gigantic NMC the computer talked about." Aya said. "If it releases those viruses into the air, we're all done for!"

"But where is it?" Sora asked. "The computer didn't say anything about it, and it sure isn't on any map anywhere!"

At the mention of the NMC, Adam's eyes grew wide. He struggled free of Aya's grasp, and ran down another hallway in the large room.

"Adam! Come back here!" Squall screamed. He began to chase him down the hallway, followed by the other three. Squall could see the door that Adam had walked into, and that it had been left slightly ajar. He ran into the room, to find one of the biggest shocks of his life.   
  
The room he walked into was enormous. He looked down, and saw that he was on what appeared to be a catwalk. It looked like he was at least thirty feet above the lowest levels of the shelter. But what surprised him more was what else was in the room...

To his left was what appeared to be a giant cocoon. It was suspended by cables that kept it hanging in the giant room next to the catwalk. "This must be what the computer was talking about before..." He said to himself. "A giant NMC..." He turned his attention from the NMC to the catwalk in front of him. Adam was gone! "But where could he – "

He heard a menacing laughter from above. It sounded like a woman's laughter. He looked up, and gasped.

It was the girl that he had met two years ago, while at Hollow Bastion. She was the seventh princess of heart. 

She was Kairi. 

Like Sora, she had grown older. Her hair now fell to her waist, and was a deep brown instead of the usual red. She was clad in what appeared to be a black leather suit. Her eyes glowed a demonic red. 

Yuffie, Aya and Sora appeared behind Squall. They all looked up at the source of laughter. Yuffie put a hand on her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, and she looked at Sora. Sora was shaking his head, looking up at Kairi. "It can't be her...It's just an illusion..."

"Ohhh, 'fraid not dear Sora!" Kairi said, her laughter abruptly stopping. "I am Kairi! But what would you care anyways? I was the one whom you left behind two years ago! So you could go on all sorts of stupid adventures with your stupid friends!"

"Kairi, that's not true!" Sora exclaimed.

"Silence!!" Kairi yelled, her voice shaking the cocoon behind all of them and the catwalk they were on. 

Aya drew her gun. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you better tell us what's going on here!"

Kairi smiled down at Aya. "I'd be glad to! You see, Sora here decided to leave me by my lonesome after all the worlds were sealed. You can't believe how lonely I was...All my friends taken away from me, both Sora and Riku...Until one day, a man came to me, and showed me a way to get my friends back! If I helped him find the five bearers of light, he'd help me bring my friends back! That's why I'm here right now!"

"That's why this whole shelter is here!" Kairi exclaimed, laughing evilly. "This whole shelter was a cover for the bigger scheme in place! My leader gave the idea to a group of scientists years ago, knowing full well that Aya was one of the bearers of light! When all these mitochondrial creatures were produced, Aya would be drawn here because she could sense the strength of the mitochondria here! And where are all the NMC's now? They've all been added to the leader's army! They'll be used to find the remaining bearers of light!"

She extended her hand out to Sora. "Come, Sora! Join me, and together we can find Mickey and Riku! We'll be together again, and you can go on all sorts of adventures with me!"

Sora looked up at her. "No! I won't join you! You're not the Kairi I knew! The Kairi I loved!"  
  
Kairi looked enraged. "Hmph! Fine then! If you won't join me, you can just die then! But not without taking the bearer of light with me! Have fun in hell, Sora!!"  
  
Kairi stretched out her arm, and opened her hand. A ball of energy began to form on her hand. After a few short seconds, it flew from her hand, and hit the cocoon behind the group. Another energy ball flew from her hand, and hit the catwalks, destroying most of it.. The foursome became separated as the catwalk split in half. Yuffie and Aya were thrown against one wall by the explosion. They were both unconscious. Squall had fallen and was hanging onto the edge of the platform. Sora had been hit with a bar of metal, and had been knocked out of commission as well. As Squall looked down, he noticed Adam hanging onto a cable that protruded from the wall. There was a long platform beneath him that ran along the walls of the room. 

Squall looked up, and saw Kairi taking Aya into her arms.

"No!! Aya!!!!"

Kairi laughed. "It's too late now!! We only have to find three more bearers of light!!" With that, Kairi disappeared, taking Aya with her.

"No..." Squall said to himself. His attention then turned to the giant NMC. 

It had been ruptured by the energy ball Kairi had launched at it. The whole thing had begun to melt into a pink liquid that began to build up at the bottom of the room. As the cocoon began to fall apart, it started to shake the catwalks, causing Squall to lose his grip, and he fell to a lower platform. 

He steadied himself on the platform, and saw Adam lying nearby. He walked over to him, and was surprised to find him alive and well. 

"Hey, you alright kid?"

"...Thank...you...Squall..."  
  
Squall looked at him surprisingly. "You can talk!?"

Adam was about to say something else, when suddenly, a large tentacle appeared from the liquid at the bottom of the shelter. It grabbed Adam, and pulled him down into the depths. 

"SQUUAAAAALLLLL!!" He screamed.

"No!! ADAM!!!"

He could see Adam being swallowed up by the pink liquid below. Suddenly, there was a great flash of light, and Squall was temporarily blinded.

Squall shielded his eyes. After a long while, the light began to dim. Squall opened his eyes, and could see the outline of some sort of creature in front of him. As the bright light dimmed, and his eyes began to adjust, he could tell what the creature was. 

It was Eve. The mitochondria from the NMC had taken Adam and used him to recreate Eve again. Squall drew his gunblade. 

"Give me back Adam!" He screamed. 

Eve responded by gliding towards him, and scratching his torso with one of her giant claws. Squall screamed in pain, holding his stomach, as blood began to seep through. He gritted his teeth, and glared menacingly at the creature. 

"I killed you...before..." He started to say, "And...I'll do it again!"

He took his gunblade, and drove it into the creature's chest. Eve stumbled back, and Squall could her the thing screaming in pain. Since the gunblade was embedded deep into the creature, he fired the revolver on his gunblade several times, until the canister was empty. The creature writhed in pain and agony. 

"This time...STAY DEAD!" Squall grabbed the gunblade with both hands, and pulled it out. The creature let out one last dying scream, and fell to the ground. Squall stood there, clutching his stomach, looking at the creature. Squall began to feel dizzy from the loss of blood, and held onto the handbars of the catwalk he was on. Suddenly, Eve got back up. Before Squall could react, Eve wrapped her giant arms around him. He cried out in pain, his wounds burning. Eve than began to fly upwards, faster and faster. In a few minutes, they would burst through the ceiling. Squall closed his eyes, and was succumbing to the pain. 

"Noooo!!" A voice screamed. Squall knew it was Adam. "Adam...you're still alive..."Squall finally fell unconscious due to his wounds and his exhaustion. The creature stopped accelerating towards the ceiling, and came to an abrupt halt. It began to break apart into pieces, and there was another blinding explosion of light. After it cleared, Adam and Squall were plummeting headfirst towards the bottom of the room...

~

"Squall..."

"…"

"Wake up...Squall..."

"Mrf...what...?"

Squall opened his eyes slowly. Everything was very blurry, but he could make out Yuffie's figure. She was sitting next to him, her head filling his range of vision.

"Yuffie...I'm...alive...?"

"Barely, I don't know how you made it!"

"And...you're...?"

"I'm fine...Just a few scratches. And Sora's okay too."

"What about...Adam?"

"He's fine...He's just like you...Don't know how he did it, but he's alive."

Squall smiled to himself. "I'm...tired..."

"Go to sleep, Squall." Yuffie told him. "It's okay..."

And Squall closed his eyes, drifting back into the realm of unconsciousness. 

~A Few Hours Later...~

Squall opened his eyes again. This time, he could see better and saw that he was back in the mines. He had been laid against one of the walls of the mine, and he could see the others sitting around him.

"Look who finally decided to wake up." Sora said. "You sure are heavy, ya know? Yuffie and I had to carry you outta there!"

Squall paid no attention to Sora's complaints. "Where's Adam? Is he alright?"

Adam walked forward from behind Yuffie and Sora. He walked up to Squall, and sat beside him. Adam tried to smile, but a look of sadness was on his face.

"Hey, what's wrong kid? We both made it!" Squall told him.

"My teddy..." Adam said softly. "It's...gone."

Squall strained a bit, and reached into his coat.

"Don't move around!" Yuffie shouted. "You'll injure yourself even more!"  
  
Squall again paid no attention, as he dug into his pockets. He finally found what he was looking for, and from his pocket, he produced Adam's teddy bear. Adam's face instantly lit up as he saw his beloved toy, and he snatched it out of Squalls' hands and held on to it tightly.

"Thank you, Squall." He told him.

Squall looked up at Sora. "Where to now?"

"Well, the next bearer of light is very close by. We should make it in a couple of hours. Can you walk back to the ship alright, Squall?"  
  
Squall used the back wall to help prop himself up. He held onto his stomach again, and Sora and Yuffie appeared on both his sides . He looked at Sora, and then to Yuffie. 

"Thanks guys..."

"Hey, just doing our job!" Yuffie said.

"Man, you're losing some weight when we get back to our own worlds..." Sora told him.

Adam kicked Sora in the back of his knees.

"OW!!!"

Yuffie and Squall laughed out loud together, as Sora clutched his knee. Adam led the way, smiling and pretty proud of himself. Yuffie helped Squall get back into the ship, and before they knew it, they were off to the next world. 

__

Aya...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let you down. But I'll find you and save you. I promise. I won't let you down again. 


	6. Welcome to Our Town!

Welcome to our Town!

Note – Wow, this story is certainly progressing along quite well!! I really like the villains in this story (Kairi and the mysterious "leader"), the new worlds that are coming up, and just everything about in general. The ending will be amazing!!!! I'm telling you right now, it will be!!! You'll never guess how it ends, but it'll be good! I like this story a lot more than the first story. ^_^

This chapter is kinda different from the others in that there really isn't much action in it. There's a lot of emotional stuff, and certain people's pasts and past habits come back to haunt them! And although the end gets kinda sappy... (I'm kinda bad writing romantical things...Oh well...) it's still pretty good! 

I've also been thinking about posting these stories on a webpage, so that way I could have a soundtrack that goes along with it! I listen to music when I write these stories, so I think it'd be really cool that way! This is one of the first chapters where I actually listened to happy music O_o

And as always, special thanks goes out to the people who put up with my crappy writing and always review my stories! ^_^ Enjoy!

~Your fingertips...~  
~Moving gently toward my heart~  
~The force of life goes on and on...~  
~The song remains, like a haunting melody~  
~Of angel music held in chains~  
~And I ask you~  
~Can we ease the pain of those who lost? (The force of life goes on...)~  
~Can we know the cause of all this sorrow? (Tears of love with you...)~  
~Can we catch the tears of a broken world?~  
~Falling down upon the earth...~  
~Falling down...~

~  
  
"How far away are we now, Sora?" Yuffie asked.

"Were almost there." Sora answered. "I can see the world in front of us right now."

Yuffie looked to Squall and Adam in the backseat. "How are you doing Squall?"  
  
Squall looked up at Yuffie. "I've felt better..." He said tiredly. 

She smiled. "Don't worry, we're almost there, and maybe we can find you a place to rest."

But Squall didn't hear her. He had already fallen asleep.

  
~  
  
Adam shook him awake a few moments later. 

"Squall! Squall! We're here!"

He moaned a bit, but managed to awaken somewhat. "Where are we...?" Squall asked.

"That's what we're going to find out." Yuffie answered. "Need help getting out?"

"Nah, I got it..." Squall winced as he reached out, steadying himself on the seat in front of him. He managed to stand up, but almost fell over had he not been holding onto the seat. He stepped out of the ship, and into one of the most beautiful places he had been. 

He had stepped out onto a bright green, grassy plain. The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was a deep blue. As Squall looked up into the sky, he noticed the planet had two moons.

They could see a sparkling blue sea to their right, and far away in distance, they could sea a ship sailing. To their left, they could see a vast forest that seemed to sprawl out for miles. But what was most amazing was what was in front of them. 

There was a small town that only had a few buildings to it. But that wasn't what caught the group's interest. Behind the town, there was a giant castle. Big, flowing red banners hung down the sides of the castle, which had a symbol of a lion on them. There was a massive moat that surrounded the castle.

"It looks like the next bearer is in that castle." Sora said. "Should we head out that way?"

The other three nodded. Sora and Adam led the way, and Yuffie helped Squall limp towards the castle and village. 

~  
  
As they walked through the village, all the townspeople stared at them. They all stopped their daily routines, and muttered to themselves about the strange newcomers as they passed them by. Squall was in a great amount of pain, and winced with every step he took. The bandages he had around his stomach began to turn red, as some of his wounds had reopened. Yuffie looked at him.

"Squall, we have to find a place for you to stop and rest!"

"I'm alright...I'll make it fine...we're almost there anyways..." He replied. 

She went beside him, and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Squall, you really need to find a place to stop! You're killing yourself, here!"

Squall responded by shoving her hands off him. "I told you...I'm fine..."

She looked at him with a great deal of concern. "If you say so Squall..."

As Squall looked up, he could see the great doors of the castle in front of them. As they approached the gate, two soldiers who stood at the gate thrust their spears forward.

"Halt!" The guard on the left said.

"What business do you have with the King of Baron?" The guard on the right asked.

"We come here with grave news about the kingdom's safety, sir!" Sora answered. 

The guards looked at each other. They then looked from Sora, to Adam, who was staring wide-eyed at everything around him, and finally to Yuffie and Squall.

"Alright, but you might want to seek some medical attention for your friend back there. He's in pretty bad shape." The guard on the right turned a knob on the wall, and the gates flung open. They resumed their stance on the opposite sides of the doorway. The four entered the castle, and proceeded to the King's chambers.

~  
  
The four entered the royal chambers together. As they entered the room, the king gave them a hearty welcome.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Baron!" He said. "I am King Cecil, ruler of this land, and this is my wife, Queen Rosa." He motioned to the woman sitting next to him, and she nodded, smiling brightly. "What message do you bring to our kingdom?" She asked, pleasantly

Sora began telling the situation. Squall stood in the back, and could barely concentrate on what was going on. The whole room seemed to be spinning, and he could barely hear Sora and the others talking. The pain in his body was overwhelming, and his wounds burned just by breathing. With one final moan, he fainted, and fell over on the royal floor.

"Squall!" Yuffie screamed, rushing to his side. Adam and Sora quickly ran over to him, too. 

"Guards, take this man to one of the sick rooms at once!" Cecil exclaimed. 

The guards quickly went to Squall, and they picked him up, quickly taking him to the nurse's room. Yuffie, Sora and Adam ran behind the soldiers.

~  
  
"Mmph..."

Squall slowly opened his eyes. He was in a bed, and on his left, he could see Yuffie sleeping away in a chair that she had pulled up next to him. He saw Sora sleeping on a couch across from him. But he couldn't see Adam.

"Squall!"  
  
Squall looked to his right, and saw Adam standing next to his bed. He climbed up and embraced him tightly. Squall was ready to wince in pain from the wounds he had, but he felt no pain. In fact, as he looked down at his chest and stomach, his wounds were completely healed.

"Adam, what happened?"  
  
"You fainted when we were in the King's room." Adam answered. "His guards carried you in here, and then the Queen used a powerful curing spell to save you."

Squall made a mental note to thank her. "How's everyone else doing, Adam?"

"They were all really worried, and they fell asleep a little while ago. I couldn't go to sleep...I haven't slept in a long time..."

"Why's that?" Squall asked.

"I have...nightmares..." Adam said.  
  
"I used to have nightmares, too." Squall told him.

"Really?" Adam asked. "I never thought you would!"

"Yeah...I used to have nightmares about when I was...left alone"

"Left alone...?" Adam asked

"Yeah...My mom died when I was very young, and I didn't see my dad until a few years ago. And my 'sis', Ellone, left the orphanage I stayed at...I was all alone...I didn't have anybody..."

Squall could tell his voice was trembling, and he shook the feeling off. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now. It's all in the past..."

"...Squall?"

"Yeah?"  
  
"What'll happen to me after all this is over? I don't want to go back to that place..."  
  
"You won't." Squall told him. "I promise! You can come home with me!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah...You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger...Being scared and alone...I don't want to see it happen again..."

"So I can come with you?"  
  
"Of course you can Adam! In fact, you can be my little brother!"  
  
"Really!?" Adam was very excited about this.  
  
"Of course you can. And when we get home, you can meet my Sis, Ellone, and my dad." He smiled, thinking of them both. "My dad's kinda funny, so I bet you'll like him."  
  
Adam hugged Squall again. "Thank you Squall..."  
  
"You're welcome Adam. But you should try to get some sleep! We have a big day tomorrow and all and..."  
  
"Zzzz..." Adam was fast asleep...

As Squall looked down to the sleeping Adam, he noticed that Yuffie was stirring awake. He looked to her, and smiled.

Yuffie however, did not return the smile.

"YOU IDIOT!!!" She screamed. 

"SHHH!!! Adam and Sora are sleeping!" Squall said in a hushed whisper. "You'll wake up them up and the whole castle!!"

"I DON'T CARE!!" She said. "You were busy being a self-righteous, arrogant bastard back there, thinking you didn't need any help at all, and you almost died!!! What was the matter with you?!?!"

"I...I...I didn't want to burden the rest of you with my troubles..." He told her.

Yuffie seemed to have calmed down a bit. "Squall, we're all here for each other. You know that we would have stopped and helped you out had you just asked."  
  
"..." Squall looked away. "I'm sorry..."

Yuffie smiled at him. She grabbed his chin, and turned his face towards hers. "I'm just glad you're alright. If it wasn't for Rosa...you would've died... I don't know what I, or Sora, or Adam would have done had you died, Squall. We're a group together, so we all have to watch out for each other, okay?"

He nodded.

"Alright then, so no more secrets, right Squall?"  
  
"…Right."

"RIGHT?!"

"Yes, yes alright!!"

Yuffie kissed him lightly on the lips. Squall returned the kiss. Yuffie drew back, and smiled at him.

"Don't die on me Squall, okay?" Squall noticed her voice was trembling, and tears were in her eyes. 

"Promise. And don't die on me, okay Yuffie?" Yuffie nodded, wiping her eyes, afraid to show Squall she was crying.   
  
"Yuffie...?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you..." He told her. 

She smiled down at him. "I know. And I love you too. Although you may make me a nervous wreck...I still love you so much." She wrapped her hand around his. He smiled back at her. 

"Thank you Yuffie..."

"For what? I didn't do anything! Rosa was the one who saved your life after all."

"Yeah but...you're the reason I live..."

Yuffie didn't hide her tears this time. She looked down at Squall, and knelt on the floor beside his bed, and laid her head on his chest. 

"Squall...that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me..." She continued sniffling and crying. 

"Hey, watch it! You're getting snot all over my sheets!" He joked. 

Yuffie punched him in the side, laughing. "Jerk..."

"Yeah...I know..."

"You better get some sleep, though...We'll need it for tomorrow." Yuffie told him, taking a serious tone. "The King said that the person who would have the most information about what's going on is the mysterious old Elder who lives in a town called Mysidia."

"What about Rosa?" Squall asked.

"She said that she would stay here. She says it's the safest place in all the land..."

"It better be..." Squall said. "For her and everyone else's sake."


	7. Long Way to Go

Long Way To Go

Note – Well, after last chapter's emotional outpouring (^_^), this one is more story-based, with some actual humor in it! I've realized that this story will be much lighter and less darker than the first one was, since it gets pretty funny in some places, especially in this chapter. ^_^ Be on the lookout for more flirtatious girls trying to steal Squall!

Raine: People like me?  
  
Author: No, people like...well...not you!!

Anyways, this chapter is ok... It's kind of a break from what I usually do. It's more of a humorous chapter than anything else! So you better like it!!As always, special thanks to my reviewers, to Snowri, and to LilSheepi, for drawing fanart!! Thanks you guys!   
Oh, and one more thing! ^_^;; Check this website out! (http://members.tripod.com/~mnwarrior03) It's my new website that has these stories on there with music added!!! So check it out!!! ^_^  
  
~Broken mirror...~  
~A million shades of light~  
~The old echo fades away...~  
~But just you and I~  
~Can find the answer, and then~  
~We can run to the ends of the world~  
~We can run to the ends...of the world...~

~  
  
"I know you will!" Kairi shouted back at Sora.

Their hands separated. Sora began to move away, and they both stood helpless, watching as the other one drifted off...

"Kairi...! I'll come back for you someday! I promise you I will! I...I love you!" Sora screamed back to her. He knew that she couldn't hear him, but he tried anyway. Soon, a strange mist encircled Sora, and Kairi disappeared. 

"Just like me and Mickey, Sora." A familiar voice said. "You left us all behind that day."  
  
"No...Riku. I tried to save you guys..."  
  
"You let us down Sora!" Riku and Kairi yelled at him. "You let us alone! We've been tormented these past two years because you left us behind!!"

"That isn't true!" Sora yelled back. "I loved you guys...you were, and always will be my best friends..."

"Then why didn't you try to find us before you found Squall and Yuffie?" Asked Riku. "That doesn't sound like something a 'best friend' would do."

"No...stop it...just stop it!!"  
  
"Doesn't it Sora? Sora?? Sora????"

"SORA!!!!"

Sora woke up with a start. He looked up, and saw Squall shaking him awake.

"Sora! Wake up!"

He looked around, and saw that he was in the sick room where Squall had been placed after he fainted the day before. He had been sleeping on the couch when Squall woke him up.

"You were talking in your sleep." Squall told him. "It sounded like you were having a nightmare... Besides, it's time to get up and go anyways."  
  
Sora nodded. "I see you're better today, Squall." 

Squall looked at him. "Yeah, I am. But what about you? Is something bothering you?"

Sora shook his head. "It's nothing."

Squall looked at him for a moment

"Whatever…" Squall and Sora said it at the same time. Sora started to laugh, as Squall stomped out of the room. Sora decided not to tell anyone about the dream he had had. He yawned, and stretched out his arms. He looked around the room again, and saw Yuffie walk in. 

"You okay there, Sora?" She asked.

"Yeah...just a bad dream..." He told her.

"Something you wanna talk about?"

"Not right now...maybe later though..." He said.

  
"Alright then." She said. "But no hiding things! I just told Squall that the night before!!" She smiled at him, and then walked out the door. Sora rubbed his head, and decided not to dwell on the dream right now.

"But still..." He thought aloud..."Did I really leave them behind?" He shook his head. "Of course not...they know that...don't they?"

~  
  
"It's good to see you alive and well, Squall" Cecil said as the four entered the throne room.

"Yes, thank you sir." He replied. "But the real thanks goes to your wife, Queen Rosa."  
  
Rosa smiled, and appeared to be blushing a bit. "Please!" She said. "It was nothing, really!"

"But, on to more important matters." Cecil interrupted. "I have already informed the Elder of Mysidia that you shall be arriving later today. You may leave whenever you wish."

"Wow!" Sora said. "It must not be that far away then!"

"But sir, there are no other towns around here for miles!" Squall said.

"That's because Mysidia is across the ocean." Cecil told them all. They all gave him a stunned look.

"So how will we get there 'later today'?" Yuffie asked.

"You'll find in the town of Baron the Serpent Road. It is an ancient teleporter that connects Baron to Mysidia. You'll be there in a few minutes!"

"Yes, thank you sir" Squall bowed his head. The others followed suit.

"Please!" Cecil exclaimed. "You need no formalities here! Just call me Cecil, alright?" The four nodded. 

"We've set aside a special room for you four while you are here." Rosa told them. "You'll find it just down the right hallway after you leave the throne room. You might want to stop there and plan your strategies."

With that, the four exited the throne room.

~  
The four gathered in the room that had been reserved for them by the king and queen. They had been originally plotting on what to ask the Elder and what they would do when they arrived in Mysidia. Suddenly, Yuffie, who had been sitting next to Squall, interrupted the conversation.

  
"Before we go, you should change into some new clothes, Squall. You reek!" Yuffie held her nose in disgust and pointed at Squall's bloodstained clothes.

"Oh, and like you're just as fresh as a daisy yourself!" Squall kidded, pointing at Yuffie's ripped shirt and the cuts on her arm.

"Excuse me." A young woman walked into the room. She had sparkling blue eyes, long brown hair, and was wearing a royal blue dress. Sora and Squall tried to keep their mouths from dropping open. "I am one of Cecil and Rosa's handmaids, Silvia. They asked me to help you with whatever you might need while you are here." She smiled at all four of them. 

"Before you go, wouldn't it be best if you all had a fresh bath and some new clothes? It will make you all feel so much better!"  
  
The four looked around at each other. They nodded, and decided that that would be the best thing for them to do right now. They had been through a lot already, and they all knew it wouldn't get any easier.

"Alright then." Silvia answered. "If you'll follow me, then." She led them out of the room, and down the hallway of the castle. 

"This used to be the residence of the king's top soliders." Silvia explained. "However, since the world has been at peace for quite some time now, we just need a few guards to protect the surrounding town and the castle."  
  
She paused a moment, and opened a door. "This is the men's bath." She explained. "When you are all finished, please call me, and I will bring you your clean clothes." Squall, Adam and Sora entered, leaving Yuffie and Silvia to themselves. 

"So, how did you end up with a group of boys such as those?" Silvia asked Yuffie as they walked towards the women's room. 

"Oh, it's a long story." Yuffie told her. "I met Squall, the tall one with brown spiky hair and the scar on his face, over four years ago. He kinda...showed up one day, and ever since then, we've almost always been together."  
  
Silvia nodded and smiled. "I can see why you like him. He's cute!"

Yuffie and Silvia laughed together for a while. "Yeah," Yuffie said, "That certainly is one of his redeeming qualities... But seriously though, even though he sometimes tries to be a hardass, deep down, he's a really sweet guy."

"And what about that young child you have with you?"

"He's...uh..." Yuffie tried to think of a quick cover because she didn't want to explain how Adam really was Squall's clone. "He's Squall's little brother! We brought him along with us!"

"A young child shouldn't be involved in the adventures you've all been on!" She told Yuffie. "Just look at what happened to his older brother! He could get seriously injured."

"Nah, Squall looks after him a lot. They're almost inseparable."  
  
"What about the other one?"  
  
"Sora? Squall and I met him two years ago when we used to live in a place called Traverse Town. We've helped him out on a few adventures, and we agreed to help him with the current task we're doing right now."

"He seems to be the light-hearted one of the bunch."  
  
"Yeah, but don't let that fool you. He's a really tough fighter." Yuffie told her, remembering her battle with him during the tournaments at the Coliseum. 

They finally came to the women's bath at the other end of the long hallway. "I'm so sorry that the women's bath is so far away." Silvia told her. "It's just that we've had so few women soldiers and all..."

"Yes, well thank you very much, Silvia!" Yuffie said as she walked into the room.  
  
"Just call me if you need anything!" Silvia told her. "I'll have your clothes hanging outside your door!"

~  
  
Squall took his shower first, and the other two got into separate showers in the room. He never knew how great it would be to finally get rid of his old clothes. They were dirty, sweaty and bloodstained. The hot water of the shower felt amazing to him.

"Squall?" Sora asked from the shower room next to his.

"What is it?" Squall asked.

"What do you think...happened to Kairi?"

"...I really don't know, kid. I'm really sorry 'bout it, though."  
  
"...Yeah."

  
"Do you think about her a lot?"  
  
"Almost all the time."  
  
"She's pretty cute..." Squall told him. "If you want, I can give you some tips on dating her after she's returned to normal..."  
  
Sora laughed from his shower room. "Yeah, but I'd like to go out with her for more than a week without fighting!"

"...whatever." This time, Squall, Sora and Adam said it in unison. Sora and Adam laughed together in their separate showers as Squall sighed in aggravation in his.

~  
  
"It's so nice to have clean clothes on for a change." Sora said, after they had gotten dressed. 

"It was very nice of Cecil and Rosa to do this for us." Squall said.

"Where's Yuffie?" Adam asked, looking up at Squall.

"She's this way!" Silvia said, appearing from one of the doors in the hallway. "Please follow me!" Silvia led the three down the hallway.

"Yuffie's told me that you and Squall are brothers!" Silvia said, looking down at Adam, as they were walking down the hallway. 

"That's right!" Adam said, smiling brightly.

"You certainly have a great person to look up to, Adam." She shot a glance back at Squall. Squall's face turned a light shade of red, and Sora snickered lightly. After that, the group walked in silence towards the women's bathroom. Yuffie had just gotten out.

"That feels so much better!" Yuffie said. "And you look much better, boys!" She said, shooting a glance at Squall. 

"Well, I guess we better get going, then." Sora said.

"You'll find the Serpent Road to Mysidia in one of the buildings in town." Silvia explained. "It's the one that has the picture of a serpent on the door!"

~  
  
"Sir, they've found the third bearer of light!" Kairi said, pointing down into the cauldron.

"It doesn't matter." A gruff voice said. "They weren't able to save the last bearer, so I doubt they'll be able to do anything for this one! However, I'd like to steal this bearer of light. This, after all, is the world I came from..."


	8. There Used to be a Plot Here

There Used to be a Plot Here...  
  
I know, I know. I've interrupted the story again with one of my crazy notes. Just hear me out, alright? I know the last two chapters have been very sappy. Not to say I hate sappiness or anything, but I really didn't want to develop a whole lot of romance in this story. I knew it wasn't really developed in the last story, so I decided to further the romance just a smidgen. I wanted to bring out more of the character's personal sides in these chapters too, since it seemed the only time you ever saw anyone doing anything was when they were fighting or getting hurt or something like that. So, in the next chapter, the story continues. Hopefully there'll be no more interruptions in it.  
  
Another thing I noticed was that I think the reason that my style changed all of a sudden was my involvement in Yahoo rp-ing. DEAR GOD!! The people who rp there are CRAZY!! There are hardly ANY decent FF rpers there, let alone any other game/anime series/book/comic/movie/tv show rpers! It's amazing how I stopped rp-ing two years ago, and I go back to find things in such a mess! Seriously, I just got out of a chatroom, which had a Zidane and Dagger (chars from ff9) oogling each other and making out. I find everyone else, just running around and making goofy remarks about everything. Not to say that making goofy remarks is a bad thing (smiles@lilsheepis camping trip ^_^) but if there's those two little letters next to a chatroom name (RP) its not your cue to be all out of character. Seriously, I've seen Squall's who are way too outgoing and happy and peppy and Rinoas that want to kill themselves. In some crazy attempt to deal with some problems I had going on with me, I escaped back to that crazy little world of chatting that I thought I left behind 2 years ago. However, having forgotten most of everything I learned from when I first rped, I realized how stupid these people act! And in a way, I started to get the Yahoo disease, and I started to write with more sappiness, a tang of goofiness and less of the seriousness that usually defines what I write. So, I apologize for the past two chapters. I do feel that they aided to the story, but some of the sappiness and . After all, we find out the nature of Squall and Yuffie's relationship, what Sora's thinking, and of course, Adam's innocence. The next chapter is very serious, and it only gets even more as the story goes on. And someone will die in this story. Not yet, but soon. So we'll see how this story goes!  
  
Anyways, thanks as always for reading my stories. I always appreciate finding reviews in my email and getting comments, praise and constructive criticisms from you, the readers. I've actually managed to avoid flamers! (although after this little note, I'm not quite sure.) The story probably won't be updated as much, as school starts on Monday (1/6/03) and the week after that, Midterms start. So yeah, it'll be fun.  
  
But fear not. I haven't given up on this story just quite yet. This story will end eventually. Whether or not I continue with a third story is doubtful, seeing as how this story eventually ends. So, enough of my ramblings! I'm working on the next chapter right now, and I hope to have it up by next weekend. So thanks again everyone!  
  
~Squall Leonhart 


	9. Beyond the Door

Beyond the Door  
  
Note - I found the plot again. It was hiding under my bed ^_^0 This chapter is actually story-based! Woohoo! Sorry bout the note I had before this chapter! ^_^0 I was just a little bit stressed out and I needed to vent some things out of my system. ^^ I've found my "light." ^_^0000 But that means the storys gonna get a lot better, promise!!! This chapter's really cool, so I hope you like it! :D  
  
P.S. I hope I got Palom and Porom's names right. I keep forgetting which one is the boy and which ones the girl _  
  
Oh, here's this chapter's theme song, May It Be, from the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring OST ^_^  
  
~May it be...~  
  
~An evening star, shines down upon you~ ~May it be...~ ~When darkness falls, your heart will be true~ ~You walk a lonely road~ ~Oh how far you are from home... ~  
  
~  
  
"So, I'm guessing this is it then, right?" Sora asked.  
  
They were standing in front of the building that they had been told about. There was an image of a serpent above the door, just like Silvia had said.  
  
"Well, it sure is nice to stand out here and look at it." Squall interrupted. "How about we go inside now?"  
  
Squall opened the door, and the rest walked inside. A soldier nodded as they all walked in.  
  
"The king told me that you would be coming. Let me just unlock the door for you..."  
  
The soldier turned around, and pressed an unseen switch beneath one of the light fixtures. The wall that was in front of the group began to shake, and suddenly, part of it began to slide back, and then moved out of the way. Inside, there was a room that had a pulsating green orb of light in the middle of it.  
  
"Just step into the light in the room." The soldier explained. "You'll then be instantly transported to Mysidia."  
  
The four looked at each other. "I don't know about this." Squall said.  
  
"Well, if Cecil and Rosa said it would work, then we should trust their word." Yuffie said.  
  
The four all stood around the light. They all joined hands. "Ready?" Squall asked. The other three nodded. The four of them stepped into the light together.  
  
~  
  
They all stepped out into what looked like the same exact room.  
  
"Did anything happen?" Sora asked.  
  
Again, like the last room, part of the wall opened, revealing a new passage. A young woman with long, red hair, and wearing a white mage's robe, walked into the room.  
  
"Please, follow me." She told them. "The Elder is expecting you." She started to walk out of the room, and the four followed.  
  
When they exited the building, they had their first real proof that they were in a different town. The people here either had the white and red robes that the woman who had come to the four, or had long blue robes on with tall tan hats that covered their faces. Like in Baron, the townspeople stopped their normal business and watched as the newcomers walked past them. As Squall looked forward, he could see a huge building in front of him. It seemed to go up very high into the sky.  
  
"This way, please." The woman said. She opened the front doors of the building.  
  
~  
  
As the four walked in, two young children ran up to them. They looked like they were twins, one boy and one girl.  
  
"Wow, cool!" The boy said. "These newcomers are really awesome! Check out that guy's sword! I bet he kicks major ass!"  
  
The girl whacked the boy in the back of the head. "Porom! You're being very rude to our guests!" She turned her glance to the four, and smiled. "I'm very sorry about that. My brother, Porom, gets excited very easily. My name is Palom." She bowed to them all. "Let us take you to see the Elder." She looked to Porom.  
  
"OW! Sis, why do you have to hit me so hard?!"  
  
She grabbed his arm. "Shh! You'll get us in trouble again if you don't stop it!"  
  
Squall rolled his eyes at the two. Yuffie saw him, and elbowed him in the chest.  
  
"What was that for?"  
  
"Be nice to them. You're making us all look bad!"  
  
"Is something the matter?" A voice rang out from behind the two.  
  
They both turned, and instantly froze in their tracks.  
  
"N-no...s-sorry Master." Porom managed to stutter out.  
  
"Ou-our guests are here, sir." Palom said, also scared stiff.  
  
A man walked forward from behind the both. He was wearing a long black robe, and had a long, silvery beard that went down to his chest.  
  
"I've been expecting you." He said, pointing to Squall, Yuffie, Sora and Adam. "Please, follow me to the high tower. I find it easier to discuss things up there."  
  
He turned around, and started to ascend a long flight of stairs. The four, unsure of what to think about the Elder, followed him up and up the long flight of stairs.  
  
~  
  
At the top of the tower, the four found the Elder looking out a tall window directly across from them.  
  
"You obviously know about the current state of things in the universe." The Elder started.  
  
"How do you know what's going on? All the worlds are separated!" Sora cried.  
  
"Oh, I have my ways." The Elder responded. "I've been watching the skies for quite some time now. Yes, all the stars in the sky are back to their rightful places. But there is still trouble brewing." He turned around to face the others. "You've noticed this planet has two moons, correct?"  
  
Squall nodded, but the other three didn't appear to know what he was talking about.  
  
"Would you be further interested to know that a few months ago, we only had one moon?"  
  
"What do you mean!?" Yuffie asked, a bit skeptical of that idea. "A moon can't just appear overnight!"  
  
"But this one did." The Elder replied. "Years ago, it fell out of this planet's orbit, and it hasn't been seen since. Until a few months ago, when it mysteriously reappeared. That moon is the source of all this evil, of all this trouble."  
  
"What do you mean?" Squall asked.  
  
"As I was saying before, years ago, the moon fell out of the planets orbit. That moon was inhabited by a race of people called the Lunarians. They were all asleep, but one of them woke up. His name was Zemus. He used his evil power to control beings on our planet to do his evil will. However, he was finally stopped by Cecil, Rosa, and their friends."  
  
"So if he's dead, and they were destroyed, why is the moon there now?" Sora asked.  
  
"One of the things Zemus said before he died was 'As long as there is evil in the hearts of humans, he will always exist.' I believe that he was revived quite some time ago, and has been gathering power to seek out these 'bearers of light' as you call them."  
  
"So, if we find and destroy Zemus, everything will be set straight, right?" Squall asked.  
  
"That's a lot easier said then done." The Elder replied. "Zemus is a powerful being. It would be impossible to fight and defeat him in this state."  
  
"So, what do we have to do then? We have to save the bearers of light, and Kairi!" Sora said.  
  
"Zemus knows where four of the five bearers are." The Elder replied. "I suspect that someone on this planet is one of them. He knows who the other three are. But he can't figure out the fifth and final bearer of light."  
  
"So, if we find the bearer before he does...?" Squall began.  
  
"Yes, than we would have the upper hand."  
  
"Until he found us and stole the bearer from us." Sora interrupted.  
  
"Or, if we brought the bearer to him..." Yuffie began. "We could then get deep into his hideout, and destroy him from within!"  
  
"What course you decide to take is up to you." The Elder replied. "Just as long as Zemus does not open that door."  
  
"Sir, do you know what lies behind that door of light?" Squall asked.  
  
The Elder sighed. "Have you heard the ancient story of how the universe used to be?" He asked. The four of them looked at each other, and shook their heads. The Elder looked back out the window, and began the legend.  
  
~  
  
Many, many years ago, all life existed on one planet. Life was peaceful, except for a few disturbances here and there, but most everyone lived in perfect harmony. However, people began to use their greed and their power to control others. This led to wars, fighting, killing, death and destruction. Finally, something happened that was so catastrophic, the world literally split apart into millions of pieces. The survivors began to rebuild these worlds, and they soon became the worlds we see today. However, five great sorcerers locked the source of the peacefulness away, so that no one could ever destroy the worlds or the universe again. This light was sealed by a mysterious door only the five sorcerers and there descendants can open. Time went on, and people forgot how their worlds were originated, and people forgot that a peaceful world ever existed... The bearers of light are direct descendants from the sorcerers who sealed the door of light so long ago. That is why Zemus needs them to open the door. If he opens the door, he will have power beyond the imagination, and the universe will be doomed. However, if someone of a pure heart and of good intentions opens the door, the universe will be restored to the way things were before any of these things happened.  
  
~  
  
"So, if we unlock the door of light ourselves," Sora began, "than things will go back to the way they used to be."  
  
"Correct." The Elder said.  
  
"It still doesn't explain why this moon suddenly reappeared after supposedly being destroyed years ago." Squall said.  
  
Before any of them could start to explain it, a Baronian soldier ran into the room. The five of them turned around, and gasped. The soldier was out of breath. He was covered in blood, and he was covered with scratches and bruises.  
  
"Sir...!" He said to the Elder. "Baron...is being attacked...the King and Queen..." He collapsed on the floor. The four rushed over to him, and Yuffie put her fingers to his neck.  
  
"He's dead."  
  
They all looked at each other.  
  
"We have to go help them!" Sora said.  
  
"The Serpent Road probably isn't the best way to get in there either." Squall said.  
  
"There is one other way." The Elder said. "Mysidia does have one of the few remaining airships in the world. With it, you probably could get to Baron very quickly."  
  
Squall nodded. He then turned to Adam, and he got down on his knees in front of him.  
  
"Adam, I need to ask you a big favor, okay? You need to stay here for a while, because Baron won't be safe enough for you."  
  
"But Squall!"  
  
"I know, I know. I don't want you to get hurt though...It's for your own good, ok?"  
  
Adam looked at the ground, clearly disappointed. He slowly nodded his head. "Ok Squall...But I really wanted to ride in the airship..."  
  
Squall smiled, and ruffled his hair a bit. "Hey, after this is all over, you'll get a ride in the airship, ok?" Adam laughed a bit, and nodded again.  
  
Squall turned to the Elder. "Is it alright if he stays here for a bit?"  
  
The Elder nodded. "I'll have Palom and Porom watch over him. I know they can be a bit troublesome sometimes, but I'll see to it that they take good care of him."  
  
Squall looked to Yuffie and Sora. "You guys ready?" They both nodded.  
  
"You'll find the airship waiting outside of Mysidia." The Elder said. "It already has a crew and pilot, so you won't have to worry about piloting it. The best chance you would have would to be dropped into the castle of Baron, and then fight your way in."  
  
The three nodded, and ran down the stairs. Adam stood next to the Elder, watching the other three run out, leaving him alone.  
  
"Will they be okay?" Adam asked the Elder.  
  
The Elder smiled down at him. "I'm sure they will be alright. Don't worry about it."  
  
~  
  
"I hope Cecil and Rosa are alright." Yuffie said, as they ran out of the building, and towards the outskirts of town. They could see the giant airship directly in front of them. The propellers were already starting to spin, ready to go at a moments notice.  
  
"The faster we get there, the faster we'll know." Squall said. "We have to hurry!"  
  
The three ran into the body of the airship, and the door instantly shut behind them. Before they had a chance to observe their surroundings, the ship began to take off, causing them to lose their balance and almost fall over. After the ship steadied itself, they all run onto the deck, to see where they were.  
  
"We should be approaching Baron soon!!" The captain yelled as the three ran onto the deck of the ship.  
  
Sora looked to the side of the ship. He could see clouds passing by him, and as he looked down, he could see the continents of the world. As he looked towards the front of the ship, he could see a plume of smoke coming from where Baron was located.  
  
"I hope we get there soon..." Sora said. "It looks like Baron is in a lot of trouble." 


	10. Cry of Sorrow

Cry of Sorrow  
  
Note - Hehe...I know I haven't updated this story in a while. So, here's a new chapter! This chapter is really depressing, so just a warning for you guys! I thought I'd put out a new chapter before exams started. (I'm currently studying AP Biology. Chlorophyll? More like bore-a-phyll!)  
  
~  
  
As the airship neared Baron, everyone on board gasped as they saw what was left of Baron. Most of the houses in the town had been burnt to the ground. Some of them were still smoldering. The castle was completely destroyed, and the crystal clear moat had turned a deep shade of red from the blood of those killed. The airship landed outside of the ruins of Baron, and everyone on board got off the ship.  
  
"We're...too late..." Yuffie said, looking down at the ground. Sora and Squall were silent.  
  
"Let's look for survivors..." The captain said. "We'll get the job done faster if we all split up." The other three solemnly nodded, and they all went their separate ways through the ruins.  
  
~  
  
Yuffie went towards the right side of the ruins of the castle. As she walked through the ruins of the castle, she would come across a body of a soldier or townsperson. However, none of them had survived. She sighed silently to herself, and continued through the ruins.  
  
"Hello??" She said aloud, praying for a response. "Is anyone here??"  
  
She turned around suddenly, hearing a rustling from a pile of bricks that used to make up the walls. She scrambled over there, and started removing the bricks as fast as she could. She heard someone within the pile coughing, and struggling to get out. As she removed more of the bricks, she finally saw who it was.  
  
"Silvia!!" She cried.  
  
The bricks had crushed Silvia, and Yuffie could only see her upper body. Her face was covered in blood from a gash she had on her forehead. Although she was in a great deal of pain, she managed to smile up at Yuffie.  
  
"Yuffie...is that you...?"  
  
"Yes! It's alright Silvia, I'll get you out of here, and everything will be fine!!"  
  
Silvia coughed again. "No...It's okay Yuffie...I don't think I'm going to make it..."  
  
"No, Silvia!! It'll be okay!!"  
  
Silvia looked up again. "Yuffie...Promise me one thing...Promise me you'll make those who did this pay..."  
  
Yuffie nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. "I will, but Silvia it's going to be okay! Just hang on a bit longer!!"  
  
"Yuffie...make sure you keep those boys in line...okay?" Silvia finally laid her head down on the ground and became silent.  
  
"Silvia...Silvia?!"  
  
"..."  
  
Yuffie broke down in tears over Silvia's lifeless body.  
  
~  
  
Sora had walked to one of the remaining standing buildings in Baron. As he approached it, he noticed that one of the Baronian soldiers lying on the ground in front of the house was still alive. Unlike the Baronian soldiers Sora had seen in the castle, this one had a blue uniform on instead of the usual red. He had long, spiky light brown hair, and looked young, about his early to mid twenties. Sora walked over to him, and crouched down beside him.  
  
"Are you alright?" Sora asked.  
  
The soldier strained to get, holding his arm in pain. "I think I broke my arm...but I'll be fine..." He looked around the area that used to be the beautiful city of Baron. "Are they gone?" He asked, looking at Sora. Sora nodded.  
  
"They came out of nowhere..." The soldier replied. "It was an ambush...I gathered some of the townspeople and tried to get some of them in this house. But still...There's so many people who died...Why...?"  
  
Sora decided to change the subject. "Have you checked on the people inside?" He asked.  
  
"No I haven't uh..." He looked up at Sora.  
  
"Oh, my name's Sora."  
  
"Thank you for coming to our aid, Sora. My name is Sir Ryuukoshi."  
  
"Well, it's glad to see you're alive, Sir Ryuukoshi." Sora replied.  
  
"Please, just call me Ryuu for short." Ryuukoshi replied. Sora nodded, and held out his hand to Ryuu. He grabbed it with his good arm, and stood up.  
  
"Let's go in and check on everybody." Sora said. He opened the door to the building. As he looked inside, he saw at least a dozen people sitting alongside the walls of the house. Most of them were women and children, and there were a few wounded soldiers inside.  
  
"It's safe to come out now." Ryuu told the Baronians in the house. "We're no longer under attack..."  
  
The people inside just looked up at Ryuu with weary eyes. They all looked like they had aged twenty years since the attack began. No one wanted to get up, and they sat on the floor, remaining silent. Ryuu again, addressed the citizens.  
  
"I have to ask you all, if you are able to move, we need to evacuate you from Baron. Most of the town and castle have been destroyed, and it's no longer safe for you to be here. There is an airship outside that will take you all to Mysidia, where we can regroup."  
  
Some of the people in the house began to stir this time. One woman in particular had a hard time getting up. As Ryuu looked over at her, he noticed she was pregnant. Using his good arm, he helped her up on to his feet.  
  
"Thank you..." The woman said softly. "Have you seen my husband...? He was outside fighting, and I haven't seen him..."  
  
Ryuu looked solemnly at her, and shook his head. "I haven't seen him, ma'am. I'm sorry."  
  
She looked down at the ground, trying to hide her tears. She nodded, putting a hand to her mouth to prevent her from crying. Ryuu held her arm with his good one, and helped her out the doorway. Sora stayed behind to help the others get out.  
  
As Ryuu and the woman were walking towards the airship, the woman suddenly stopped. She ran over to one of the fallen soldiers.  
  
"No..." She said, looking over the soldier's lifeless body. "Why...? Why...?" She broke down into sobs, as Ryuu laid his hand on her back to comfort her as she looked down upon her fallen husband.  
  
~  
  
Squall was walking through one of the hallways that used to be a beautiful hallway of the castle, decorated with spectacular banners and other decorations. Now it was just a pile of rubble. As he walked towards the remains of the King's room, he saw a man lying face down on the floor. Squall knew it was the king.  
  
"Cecil!" Squall cried out, running to the king's side. The king looked up at him weakly.  
  
"Squall...There was a sneak attack...They took...Rosa..."  
  
"Cecil, don't talk!" Squall replied. "Save your strength...I'll help you back to the airship." Squall bent down, and helped the king onto his feet. He threw one of the kings' arms around his shoulders, and helped him walk out of his ruined castle. As they were walking out, Yuffie joined the two, wiping away tears from her eyes.  
  
"Yuffie...?" Squall began to ask.  
  
"Silvia...died..." Yuffie replied, as even more tears began to run down her face. Both Squall and Cecil shook their heads. Cecil turned around suddenly, to look at his ruined castle.  
  
The main castle walls had been completely destroyed. Most of the inner walls had been knocked over or destroyed as well. The entire castle and town of Baron had been completely decimated.  
  
"Why...?" Cecil asked. "Why did this have to happen?"  
  
~  
  
Note: Yeah I know it's kind of a short chapter (exams and all). I think its really one of the more touching chapters I've written. When I first wanted to write this chapter, I wanted it to be this big heroic battle, this whole "wow war is cool because I get to kill all sorts of people and that's fun!" So, I gave it more of a realistic look. I'm a very anti-war person, and although I've never actually been in a war, I've heard, seen, and read enough to know it's not a fun thing. So, this is just to prevent any emails saying I was to cruel to characters and to the people of Baron. Sorry, but war isn't a big fun adventure. 


	11. Time Circuits

Time Circuits

Note – Yes, another chapter!! Sorry about the long hiatus I took. But, here I am, back again! As you can tell by the title, this chapter and the next few chapters that are coming up have to do with time. So, obviously, there's going to be a TON of discrepancies, mainly because the whole idea of time travel and stuff like that is so mind-boggling, and you can literally drive yourself crazy trying to think about it!! So, don't even think about that stuff, and just enjoy the story! Really!!!

~Three days later...~

"Are you sure the survivors will be safe here?" Squall asked the Elder.

"Mysidia's probably the best place and the safest place to be as of right now. They'll all be taken care of well."  
  
Squall was standing in front of the Elder, once again in the high room of the main building of Mysidia. 

"You need to go out and find the next bearer of light." The Elder added. "Zemus is getting much too powerful. You need to start heading out as soon as possible."  
  
Squall nodded. "I understand. I'll go round up the others, and we'll be on our way as soon as possible."  
  
~  
  
_Why couldn't we have gotten there sooner? _Yuffie asked herself again. She was sitting outside of Mysidia, in a graveyard that had been made for those who died in the attack. She was sitting in front of Silvia's grave. _It's my fault. I shouldn't have left them all behind...  
  
_"Yuffie..."

Yuffie spun around suddenly, to find Squall standing behind her.  
  
"Geez, Squall. You scared the crap out of me..."  
  
Squall sat down beside her. "I'm sorry, Yuffie. But I have something I need to tell you. We have to leave this world, and start searching for the next bearer of light."  
  
Yuffie looked down at the ground. "I...don't want to go...I want to stay behind..."  
  
Squall gave her a puzzled look. "I don't understand..."  
  
Yuffie stood up and looked down at Squall. "Listen, we haven't been able to find any of the bearers of light and save them! And in the end, more people just end up getting hurt or killed, like Silvia..."  
  
"Yuffie, it's not your fault that those people died." Squall told her.  
  
"Yes it is!! If I had only stayed behind, I would have been able to save her..."  
  
"Yuffie, the only person who is responsible for this is Zemus. He's the only one who did all of this! It's not your fault."  
  
Yuffie remained silent, and just looked down at the ground. Squall got up and stood in front of her.   
  
"Look, I respect your decision to stay here. If you want to, that's fine with me. But just think about what I said, okay?"  
  
Yuffie nodded slightly. Squall smiled, and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "The answers will come to you, I promise." Yuffie managed to smile a bit, and Squall walked off to find Sora and Adam.  
  
~  
  
"What about Yuffie?" Adam asked. "Isn't she coming with us?" The three of them had already boarded the gummi ship. 

"Yuffie wanted to stay behind, Adam." Squall replied. "She said she had to think some things over."  
  
"Oh..." Adam said.

  
Squall flipped the switches, as the ship's engine started.  
  
"So you're just going to let her stay behind like that, Squall?" Sora asked. 

"It was her decision." Squall answered. "I respect her decision, and if she wants to stay here, that's fine with me."  
  
Sora glared at him from the backseat, and soon just stared out the window in disgust. Adam looked like he was ready to cry. Just then, there came a banging from the side door.  
  
"What's going on with this ship?!" Squall yelled.  
  
The ship door opened, and Yuffie walked in. "And you were just going to leave without me?"  
  
"Yuffie!" The three guys all cheered at once. "You came!!" Adam said. "I knew you would!"  
  
"Did you get a chance to think things over, Yuffie?" Squall asked her.   
  
Yuffie sat down beside Sora. "Yeah, I did. I remembered what Silvia told me before she died... She said to avenge her death by going after Zemus..." She looked up at them all, and grinned wildly. "She also told me to keep you boys in line!!!"

The other three laughed at that. "It's good to have you back, Yuffie." Sora said. "Squall won't be as big of an ass now!"   
  
Squall glared at Sora, and then took off towards the next world.  
  
~  
  
"Are you sure this is it?" Squall asked. "This world looks pretty barren..."  
  
The ship was hovering in front of a world that was covered in clouds. The whole entire planet was white. 

"These navigation systems never lie." Sora replied. "This is definitely the place. But it's weird. The signal for the next bearer is very weak. It's like they're here, but they're not...It's all very strange..."  
  
"Well, I guess we should go investigate then..." Squall replied. And with that, they entered the new world...  
  
~  
  
When they landed and opened the door of the ship, they were shocked by the frigid air outside.   
  
"It's freezing!" Yuffie cried. "And it's snowing like crazy too!"   
  
All four of them stepped out, shivering in the cold climate. 

"Look over there!" Sora pointed. In the distance, the four could see some sort of structure. "Let's head that way!" 

The three walked through the arctic air towards the structure in front of them. As they got closer, they noticed that it was shaped like a dome. A long antenna protruded from the top of the dome. There was no doors into the dome, but just an empty space so that someone could walk in. The four finally approached the dome, and walked in.  
  
"This is very weird..." Yuffie said. "It feels so warm in here..."  
  
Yuffie was right. The temperature seemed noticeably higher in the dome than it did outside.   
  
"Look at that thing!" Adam cried. He pointed to a platform in front of them. A strange humming noise came from it.   
  
"What is this place?" Sora wondered. "And what's on that platform?" Sora walked on to it, and started ascending.  
  
"Sora!" The other three cried.  
  
"Ack! Help, you guys!!!" Sora cried out. The other three ran onto the platform to grab him, but then they too were ascending upwards. They flew up out of the dome, and towards the sky. As they looked down, they could see the landscape below them becoming smaller and smaller. Then there was a brilliant flash of light...  
~  
  
When the light dimmed, they found themselves in a similar room to the one they were already in. The four stepped off the platform, and looked around the room.

"Where are we!?" Yuffie asked. "It felt like we were flying up into the sky!"

"There's only one way to find out." Squall answered. He led the way out of the room, and he gasped at he saw outside.

At first he looked down. There was no snow here, and the weather was very tolerable. As he looked to his left and right, he saw the clouds of the sky. They were on a land mass that was floating above the clouds! In the distance he could see a palace to the north, and another building to the west.   
  
"How is this possible?" Sora asked.

"We should probably go into that building over there." Yuffie said. "Maybe we'll find some answers there."  
  
~  
  
As they entered the building, a man standing by the door turned around to greet them. He was dressed in very colorful clothing, and it was quite similar to the clothing they had seen at Baron.  
  
"Visitors!" He exclaimed. "Where did you come from? This is the magical kingdom of Zeal! This building is Enhasa, and further west is the experimental building of Kajar. You've probably already seen the palace to the north. That's Queen Zeal's palace! She watches over all of us, and uses the great power of Lavos to protect us all!!"  
  
The four looked at each other, as if to say that that man was crazy.  
  
"What is he talking about?" Adam whispered to Yuffie. Yuffie shook her head. "Beats me, kid."  
  
"Ah, I can sense that you can use magic too! But it's so primitive... You poor things!!" The man started up again. "Why, I had almost mistaken you for the Earthbound ones..."  
  
"Listen," Squall interrupted, "We need to talk to Queen Zeal. Can you tell us how to get there?"  
  
"Sure, you just take the caves to the north! They'll lead you right to the palace. But I'm sure the Queen wouldn't want to waste her time with...'people' such as yourself, but I'm sure you can go ahead and try!"  
  
As he was talking, Adam noticed a cat behind the man. As the others were busy paying attention to the man, Adam sneaked away to go see the cat. He bent down, and started petting it, and the cat smiled, and began to purr madly. Adam smiled back. Suddenly, he felt another presence around him, and looked up to see another child about his age. He was dressed all in blue, and had long blue hair as well. Adam stood up.   
  
"Is this your cat?" Adam asked. "He's really nice and all!"  
  
The kid just glared at him. "Leave me and the cat alone..."  
  
Adam seemed shock that he was being so rude to him. A hurt look replaced the look of happiness he had had just minutes earlier. The child started to walk away, and Adam followed after him. The child stopped in front of the other three. The man stopped talking, and looked down at the kid.

  
"Oh, hello there Janus!" He looked back to the group. "This is Janus! He's the royal heir to the throne along with his sister, Schala!"  
  
Janus paid no attention to the man. He stared blankly at the four. Finally, he spoke.  
  
"One among you...will shortly perish."  
  
The four looked at each other in disbelief, and then looked back to Janus with looks of anger.  
  
"That's not a very nice thing to say!" Yuffie yelled.

"Yeah, just who do you think you are, anyway?!" Sora added.

Squall and Adam remained silent, staring at Janus. Janus just turned his head, and walked out of the building.

"He's been that way for a while now." He answered. "Ever since the Queen started working on an Undersea Palace. But actually he's happier now ever since the Prophet arrived!"  
  
"The prophet?" Squall asked.

"Oh yes!" The man replied. "He came to the Queen a few weeks ago! All his predictions about the future have come true! Its uncanny how they almost always come true!"  
  
A few minutes later, Squall thanked the man, and brought the others outside to discuss their plan of action.

"I bet if we go ask the Prophet at the palace, he'll point us in the direction of the next bearer of light." Squall started. "So we should make our way towards the palace." He pointed towards one of the nearby caves.

The caves worked the same way the land bridge had worked. The four would step on a platform, and then they would ascend higher into the sky, until they finally reached the palace.  
  
"Squall?" Yuffie said before they entered.   
  
"What is it?" Squall asked.  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this place. Things don't seem very right here..."  
  
Squall smiled. "It's probably just your imagination. You're probably just upset over what that kid said. Don't worry about it!"   
  
"Yeah...alright. I guess you're right." She answered, still feeling worried about this place. The four entered the palace. The interior was almost the exact same as Enhasa, with tapestries lining the wall, displaying the symbol of Zeal, and plush, colorful carpeting on the floors. In front of them was a set of stairs that led towards the royal throne room. As they entered, they noticed Janus walking with a girl who looked about eight years older than him. They both walked silently up the stairs.

"That's her!!" Sora said. "I bet you that's Janus' sister, Schala! She's the next bearer of light!"  
  
"Let's go before it's too late!" Squall replied, and he started running down the hallway after the two, followed by the other three. As they opened the doors at the top of the steps, Squall caught a glimpse of Janus and Schala as they unlocked the palace door with some sort of necklace.   
  
"C'mon you guys, we're almost there!" He cried to the others. The four of them entered the throne room together.

As the four entered, they saw Janus and Schala standing on the left side of the room. A tall man in a cape and hood was standing next to Janus. In front of the four was a throne, and who could only be Queen Zeal was sitting there.  
  
"How did you get in here?!" The Queen cried. Squall was about to respond when the hooded man stepped forward.

"These are the ones I warned you about, my Queen." A gruff voice said. "They're trying to overthrow the throne!!"  
  
"Ah yes...Thank you, wise Prophet. In fact, I'll let you take care of them as you wish! Guards!"

A group of guards seized the four. "Wait!" Squall cried. "We're not here to destroy you! We're here to help!!"

The Queen just laughed at the four. Schala and Janus looked down at the floor, powerless to stop their mother.   
  
"Schala!" The voice of the Prophet rang out again. "Come with me! I'll need your help in disposing of these vandals!"  
  
Schala didn't move at first.  
  
"DO AS HE SAYS!" The Queen shouted. Schala winced, but followed the Prophet and the other four out of the throne room. The Queen just laughed evilly. Janus looked at the floor, trying to hold back his tears.   
  
~  
  
The four were back on the earth's surface. The prophet stood in front of them, and Schala stood beside him.   
  
"Now," The Prophet began, "I've decided to let you live. But you've all seen too much. So I have to banish you from this entire time period!" He looked to Schala. "Schala, open a time gate!"  
  
"But sir, please!" Schala cried.  
  
"DO IT!" The Prophet yelled coarsely. She sighed, and held out her arms. She whispered a few words, and a portal appeared in front of them. The guards shoved the four towards the portal.  
  
"Why are you doing this to us?!" Squall cried as they were being shoved towards the portal.  
  
"I'm sorry, Squall." Squall could have sworn he heard a tone of remorse in the man's voice. He also sounded oddly familiar.

"Hey, wait a second, how do you know my name?!" Squall cried out again. But it was too late. All four were shoved into the time portal. As they entered it, it immediately closed. 

"Now seal it off!" The Prophet barked. Tears poured from Schala's eyes as she stretched her arms out again, and put a seal around the portal.  
  
"Ha, those fools! They thought they could defy the mighty Zeal!" He laughed evilly. "Come Schala! Let us go back to the palace! Then, we shall be going to the Undersea Palace! It's almost complete!" Schala said nothing, and walked ahead of the Prophet.  
  
When he was sure Schala couldn't see him. The Prophet turned around. He looked towards the portal, and sighed.

  
"I'm sorry..."


	12. Find Your Way

Find Your Way  
  
Note - Wow, long time no new chapter, right? Well, sorry bout the long delay! But lemme tell you, this new chapter is sooo cool! Hope ya like it ^_~. (Btw, new disclaimer, all the stuff I stole from Xenosaga: Episode 1 belongs to the people who made it!)  
  
~  
  
"Good, everything is falling into place, just as it was foretold..."  
  
Zeromus smiled, sitting in a massive throne. In front of him was a small circular table. On top of it was what appeared to be a spinning gyroscope of light. Every few seconds a flash of light would emit from it. As he sat, smiling, he felt the presence of another in the room with him.  
  
"All you ever do is sit there and watch that stupid thing. What's it mean anyway?"  
  
He tried not to lash out in anger at Kairi's harsh tongue. "This is no simple toy, Kairi. This is the Compass of Order. All of what is going on now has been foretold. I must see that all is rightfully coming to pass."  
  
Kairi crossed her arms, an indifferent look on her face. "Coming to pass? What are you talking about?"  
  
"You no doubt have heard the ancient legend of how there used to be one world?"  
  
"Of course, I heard that story when I was a child."  
  
"Yes...All of these worlds used to be one world. It was a world of great power. Weapons of immense destruction, ones of which have never been heard of since. If I can gain control of those weapons..."  
  
"Yes...we'll control the universe..."  
  
Zeromus smiled, watching the Compass spin its course. "Yes, as long as they don't interfere. But don't worry. I've seen to it that they shouldn't be a problem..."  
  
~  
  
Squall opened his eyes. Where are we? He looked around. He saw Yuffie, Sora and Adam all sitting around him. As he looked around the surroundings, he noticed they were on a paved road. On either side, grass and weeds shot up, looking like they had never been cut.  
  
"Are you guys.okay?" Squall finally asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think so..." Sora said, looking at the ground. "Where are we?"  
  
"I wish I knew..." Squall muttered. Then, he noticed a figure walking towards them. As it approached, Squall could tell that the person was short. He then figured it was probably a small girl, since he could see the outline of a dress. As she approached them, he noticed her long, striking orange hair, and her piercing violet eyes.  
  
"Who...who are you?" Yuffie asked. "And where are we?"  
  
The young girl walked up to the four of them. "My name is Nephilim. I am the keeper of this place. You were transported to a place where time and space don't exist."  
  
Sora looked at her incredulously. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Nephilim turned, looking off into the distance, her long hair blowing, even though there was no breeze. "This used to be the one world that was present before it separated into the many worlds you live in today. Because it was destroyed, it lays in a place where nothing else exists. I was the lone survivor, and it is my duty to guard, and to one day restore this planet."  
  
Yuffie stood, looking at her surroundings. "This is...our home?"  
  
Nephilim nodded, walking down the road, her feet following a yellow-dotted line. "Yes...Thousands of years ago, this was where all humans lived. Then...something happened.. It split, causing all the worlds you see today."  
  
The other four followed behind her, looking around at everything. "So, how can we bring this world back to life?" Squall asked.  
  
Nephlim turned around. "I do not know. I do know that you are the four that will do it. However, that time has not approached... You still have many tests and obstacles ahead of you."  
  
"How do we get back?" Adam asked. "Our friends are in trouble!"  
  
Nephilim smiled at Adam. "How to get back? I can send you back, but would you really want to go? Like I said before, there are many sufferings and trials ahead."  
  
One among you, will shortly perish...  
  
Squall winced, the words of Janus echoing through his mind again. It's just some stupid kid messing with us...It's not real... 


End file.
